I long for you, Aquarius,

I need to be with you again

"Aerith," Genesis said as he untangled Aerith's hair from his wrist. The hair binding, as he'd like to call it was happening every night now and it prevented him from straying away from her anytime of the night. He doesn't even know when she finds time to do it, just that whenever he opens his eyes, he would find Aerith's long braided hair wrapped around his wrist as surely as the sun rises with the dawn.

She groans and slides closer to his warmth. He smiles and begins the process of removing the looped hair. "Wake up, Aerith." He said and gently kisses her shoulder. "It's already morning."

Her eyes flutter open and once again he is rewarded with the view of her forest green eyes, gaining a blue tint in the crystal light of the cave. She smiled tenderly upon seeing and moved out of the way as he sat up. Normally, he would have gone right through his morning rituals, chopping firewood, hunting game, checking the markers he's set around the perimeter for any signs of intrusion… but today he could spare a few more moments to look at her still lying in their makeshift bed, her pool of long braid at her side as she blinked up at him sleepily.

"Why do you do that?" he asked.

"Do what?" she asked, voice still heavy with sleep.

"Curl your hair around my wrist? You do it every night."

Aerith suddenly laughed. A full, brilliant laugh that echoed around in the cavern. "Genny, you're the one who does it!"

"What?"

She sat up and kissed the tip of his nose. "I've gotten quite used to it, but the first few times were a surprise. You would tug on my hair like it was a rope! Then you'd coil it around your wrist... sometimes you even tie a knot! I spend quite some time untangling those. Sometimes, I barely get a night's sleep from all your tying and tugging."

Genesis frowned. "You're making that up."

Aerith giggled some more. "Would I lie to you?"

He looked at her as if he could unlock the secrets of her smile. But all the he could see was dizzying depths of green filled with amusement and love. Even if she was lying, it wouldn't matter because tomorrow it will be the same. He will still wake up with her hair around his wrist. He shook his head. "I shouldn't have asked." Then he looked at her closely once again. "You keep an awful lot to yourself."

Aerith cocked her head to one side and raised an eyebrow. "You do too."

He sent her a level look. He had no major secrets while she has yet to speak to him about the child growing in her womb. He shrugged. She would tell me when it's time, no need to start the drama early.

Her eyes twinkled as she watched him think while looking at her. "Truce then?" she accompanied it with her most brilliant smile.

"Truce." He agreed. Then he smiled, despite himself. "Goodmorning Aerith."

Aerith leaned close and kissed him on the mouth. She pulled away with another brilliant smile on her face. "Goodmorning, my love."

A few months had passed and there was now a noticeable bulge in her belly. One night Genesis sharpened his growing collection of tools with a roughstone while Aerith as she patched a hole in one of her dresses. It was just another regular night, something that they do on a weekly basis. But today Genesis was very near the edge.

She still hadn't spoken to him about her condition and it was slowly driving him mad. He dragged the spearhead against the roughstone too harshly and his unprotected hand became victim to the ensuing friction. He grit his teeth at the sudden flare of pain and annoyance and threw the spearhead away. It embedded against the wall, knife sharp.

"Genny! Are you ok?" Aerith asked as she turned concerned green eyes at him. She had stopped her sewing and has turned her full attention to him.

"No… No I am not okay." He stood up and faced her.

Aerith was about to stand up from where she perched when Genesis ordered her to stay there. Then he sat in front of her and grabbed both of her hands with his. He watched her attend to him with detachment. He had grown weary of the games and the waiting. "Did you not think it was important to tell me?"

Aerith turned to him lazily then took his hand and placed it on her belly. "What, this? Whatever for? You're gonna notice sooner or later and it's not like you can do anything about it."

Genesis looked at her with a confused expression on his face.

"I think I'll name him Exodus." She smiled at him and the look in her eyes said that she would brook no argument.

"Aerith!" the urgency in his voice demanded no other reaction but haste. Aerith immediately looked up from what she was doing and was surprised to find Genesis bring in a bundle of something that had… blood?

It could easily be mistaken for a game he caught for them to eat but the wild look in his eyes and the way that he carried it toward her sent a chill down her spine. This was no animal; it was a person. "The healing kits, quickly!" Genesis laid the person down into their bed roll and Aerith approached carefully, holding out the items she might need. Upon closer examination, she saw the long brown hair that was tucked into the hood and the dark red blood that stained the clothing as well as her hands. Aerith gasped when Genesis pulled back the hood to offer a drink of a healing vial to the person's mouth.

"Tifa!" she gasped, kneeling down beside her friend. "What happened?" she turned to Genesis in a panic.

"I found her like this. The river was stained with blood and she was the source. Come on, drink up!" He pressed the bottle to her lips.

"No, no. That won't do. Move over!" Aerith exclaimed as she pulled back her sleeves kneeled in front of Tifa. She closed her eyes in prayer and called for the planet to assist her. Suddenly the lights of the crystals around them dimmed and a bright, green light started to appear in her palms, settling around the form of her friend. They spent a few tense minutes that way and then just as suddenly, the light disappeared. Aerith fell forward and it was all Genesis could do to catch his pregnant lover with one arm before she fell over her hurt friend.

He made sure to arrange both women comfortably then went to Aerith's side. Suddenly Tifa's eyes opened and she sat up, eyes wild in confusion. Her eyes found them and she shrieked. "You need to get away!" Her eyes were wild.

"What are you talking about? What happened?" Genesis asked as he held a protective arm over Aerith.

"Nibelheim is gone!" She sobbed and struggled to catch her breath. "General Sephiroth, he went to the Shin-Ra mansion, then we didn't see him for weeks. We thought he died! But we were too afraid, to go check... Then other SOLDIERs came; unlike any we have ever seen before. They hid their faces, they came in the night, and then they started going to houses and killing everyone inside! They came for my father… for me… and they demanded to know where you were. They said they would kill everyone if nobody could tell them where you went… My father died right in front of me, he tried to defend me…" her tears fell and she sobbed. Aerith, having recovered from her faint, came to her and smoothed her hair.

"Then he came. Sephiroth. He saved me. They wanted him to come back to them; to help them in their search for you. But he killed them. He was merciless; he said things have changed. He killed every SOLDIER that tried to approach. He said to me, 'Run. Warn them. Tell them things have changed; tell him Angeal has died because of it. Tell him it's just a matter of time.'"

Genesis blinked slowly as if to digest the information he's been given then he turned hardened eyes at her. "Where is Sephiroth?"

"I don't know!" Tifa sobbed and held on to Aerith. "He took a blow for me. The sword went right through his body, onto mine. Then I ran... I ran... I was dying but I ran." She clutched Aerith's hand and then her eyes widened as she patted her body, searching for her wounds. "Where are my wounds?"

"I healed you." Aerith said.

Genesis suddenly stood up. His hands clenched then unclenched and his face had a look of intense concentration. "Genesis. Genesis, what are you doing?" Aerith looked at her lover and was panicked by the bright light in his eyes.

He ignored her question and strode to where the rest of his things were and promptly took out his sword. "I'm going to end this."

Aerith stood up and latched onto his arm. "You're not making sense! Why would you go? They don't know where we are, we're safe here…"

Genesis wiped the dust off his blade and pulled out his cloak. He put it on and then sheathed his blade in its holster. "Sephiroth sent a message. He's done something. And even if I can't end this, I have to avenge my friends." He removed her hold on his arm like it didn't hold weight and started walking towards the exit.

"Genesis!" Tifa called, coming to Aerith's side.

Aerith was in tears. "Don't go! What about our son?" She held her belly with one hand.

Genesis turned his head to face her. "Don't you understand? We will never really be safe as long as there are people who knows of you, who will look for you. He will never know peace. I have to end this. I have to."

"No, that's not true!" Aerith grabbed him and held on to him tightly. "Please don't leave us."

Genesis bent his head low and brought his lips against her forehead. "Raise him well." He said then he disentangled her hold on him and before she could grasp him again, he strode out of the cave.

"Genesis!" Aerith and Tifa ran out after him but by the time they got outside, he was gone.

All that hinted of his presence was a single black feather, fluttering down towards where they stood.

A / N: There will be one last chapter. Thanks everyone for being patient despite the long wait in between updates. :)